Published: Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at 9:44 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at 9:44 p.m.

By 9:30 a.m. Monday, Eddie Biedenbach has already debated the headlines – namely the latest development in the UNC academic scandal – with his regular coffee group and hit the gym at the Country Club of Landfall for his weights and stretching regimen.

Now Biedenbach relaxes in a white rocker on the porch of the Wrightsville Beach home he's owned since 1978. Rain patters overhead, his 14-year-old golden retriever lounges nearby and the longtime basketball coach explains his mixed feelings about an unexpected hiatus to a lifetime in the game.

“Everywhere I go, people ask me (what's next),” Biedenbach said. “It doesn't really bother me, but I don't really have a good answer at this point. I've always had a good answer. It might not be right, but I always had a good answer.”

Last April, Biedenbach left UNC Asheville after 17 years to join Buzz Peterson's staff at UNCW. The most successful coach in Big South history wanted to be an assistant. Not to lighten his workload, but rather to return to a place he considers home.

While Biedenbach joined the Seahawks with plans to coach another three to five years, he ended up without a job less than a year later. The newly minted N.C. Sports Hall of Famer assumed interim duties when Peterson was fired on March 11 and publicly announced his desire for the permanent position, but he wasn't retained by new coach Kevin Keatts.

Biedenbach, who turns 69 in August, said he's enjoying “semi-retirement” but hopes to find his way back into basketball, whether it's on the bench or in a scouting role. Over a round of golf, he reiterated to Peterson last weekend that he doesn't blame him for the way his move worked out.

“I thanked him again for asking me to come down,” Biedenbach said. “I enjoyed that year. I didn't enjoy not winning. I didn't enjoy not getting the most out of the team that we should have or could have. Even if we did, it wouldn't have been much more.”

Biedenbach would have been content to finish out his career at Asheville, where he led the Bulldogs to 256 wins and their first three NCAA Tournament appearances. He had made school officials aware that he'd leave to coach at his alma mater N.C. State or UNCW.

When the offer from Peterson came along with a raise to $130,000 a year, Biedenbach, who started in coaching as a Wolfpack assistant in 1970, took the calculated risk.

The move made sense. He's close friends with athletic director Jimmy Bass and the move put him slightly closer to his two daughters in Raleigh and Charlotte. His wife, Barbara, a real estate agent, had plenty of contacts in the area.

He figured Peterson would at least get to finish the three years on his contract, based on the athletic department's finances and the mess the coach had inherited.

Biedenbach enjoyed working on a veteran staff, but the Seahawks struggled again in 2013-14, their fifth 20-loss season in six years.

“You hear comments from time to time, but as a staff, I think you're kind of oblivious to what's going on around you,” Biedenbach said. “You're trying to make the guys play better and work better together.”

Bass said Biedenbach would be in the mix to replace Peterson, though the coach declined to guess how seriously he was considered. He talked with Keatts after the hire but respects his decision to bring in a new staff.

Unemployment has made Biedenbach “antsy,” he said. He guesses this is his first time out of work since he started helping on his brother's paper route in Pittsburgh as an eighth-grader.

Biedenbach keeps his dedicated morning routine and has been playing more golf. (He broke 80 recently for the first time in years.) He talks with friends across basketball daily, but more out of habit than in actively looking for his next gig.

The rain picks up on this soggy morning. The dog stirs to its feet to investigate a visitor and Biedenbach sips water from a Pittsburgh Steelers cup. At this point, the coach says, almost reminding himself, he doesn't need to take a job just to have one.

“I'm not really overly concerned right now,” Biedenbach said. “This is a good time for me to reflect. Understand I'm not happy about doing it this way, but I think it's a good time for me to enjoy some other things and have a little patience.”

<p>By 9:30 a.m. Monday, Eddie Biedenbach has already debated the headlines – namely the latest development in the UNC academic scandal – with his regular coffee group and hit the gym at the Country Club of Landfall for his weights and stretching regimen.</p><p>Now Biedenbach relaxes in a white rocker on the porch of the Wrightsville Beach home he's owned since 1978. Rain patters overhead, his 14-year-old golden retriever lounges nearby and the longtime basketball coach explains his mixed feelings about an unexpected hiatus to a lifetime in the game.</p><p>“Everywhere I go, people ask me (what's next),” Biedenbach said. “It doesn't really bother me, but I don't really have a good answer at this point. I've always had a good answer. It might not be right, but I always had a good answer.”</p><p>Last April, Biedenbach left UNC Asheville after 17 years to join <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9942"><b>Buzz Peterson</b></a>'s staff at <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic71"><b>UNCW</b></a>. The most successful coach in Big South history wanted to be an assistant. Not to lighten his workload, but rather to return to a place he considers home.</p><p>While Biedenbach joined the Seahawks with plans to coach another three to five years, he ended up without a job less than a year later. The newly minted N.C. Sports Hall of Famer assumed interim duties when Peterson was fired on March 11 and publicly announced his desire for the permanent position, but he wasn't retained by new coach Kevin Keatts.</p><p>Biedenbach, who turns 69 in August, said he's enjoying “semi-retirement” but hopes to find his way back into basketball, whether it's on the bench or in a scouting role. Over a round of golf, he reiterated to Peterson last weekend that he doesn't blame him for the way his move worked out.</p><p>“I thanked him again for asking me to come down,” Biedenbach said. “I enjoyed that year. I didn't enjoy not winning. I didn't enjoy not getting the most out of the team that we should have or could have. Even if we did, it wouldn't have been much more.”</p><p>Biedenbach would have been content to finish out his career at Asheville, where he led the Bulldogs to 256 wins and their first three NCAA Tournament appearances. He had made school officials aware that he'd leave to coach at his alma mater N.C. State or UNCW.</p><p>When the offer from Peterson came along with a raise to $130,000 a year, Biedenbach, who started in coaching as a Wolfpack assistant in 1970, took the calculated risk.</p><p>The move made sense. He's close friends with athletic director Jimmy Bass and the move put him slightly closer to his two daughters in Raleigh and Charlotte. His wife, Barbara, a real estate agent, had plenty of contacts in the area. </p><p>He figured Peterson would at least get to finish the three years on his contract, based on the athletic department's finances and the mess the coach had inherited.</p><p>Biedenbach enjoyed working on a veteran staff, but the Seahawks struggled again in 2013-14, their fifth 20-loss season in six years. </p><p>“You hear comments from time to time, but as a staff, I think you're kind of oblivious to what's going on around you,” Biedenbach said. “You're trying to make the guys play better and work better together.”</p><p>Bass said Biedenbach would be in the mix to replace Peterson, though the coach declined to guess how seriously he was considered. He talked with Keatts after the hire but respects his decision to bring in a new staff.</p><p>Unemployment has made Biedenbach “antsy,” he said. He guesses this is his first time out of work since he started helping on his brother's paper route in Pittsburgh as an eighth-grader.</p><p>Biedenbach keeps his dedicated morning routine and has been playing more golf. (He broke 80 recently for the first time in years.) He talks with friends across basketball daily, but more out of habit than in actively looking for his next gig.</p><p>The rain picks up on this soggy morning. The dog stirs to its feet to investigate a visitor and Biedenbach sips water from a Pittsburgh Steelers cup. At this point, the coach says, almost reminding himself, he doesn't need to take a job just to have one.</p><p>“I'm not really overly concerned right now,” Biedenbach said. “This is a good time for me to reflect. Understand I'm not happy about doing it this way, but I think it's a good time for me to enjoy some other things and have a little patience.”</p><p><i></p><p>Eric Detweiler: 343-2261</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @edetweiler</i></p>